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Britain and its People in Pictures

WHAT MAKES THE BRITISH DIFFERENT FROM OTHER NATIONS: THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE

In this module you will learn about:

  • Why it is important to get a sociocultural knowledge alongside with the language of the country and its people

  • The concept of "being different" in British culture

  • The geographic and political names of the country

  • The four nations, their identifying symbols and signs of national identity: flags, patron saints, floral symbols, etc.

  • The dominance of England and national loyalties


Study the PowerPoint presentation of the topic

ASSIGNMENT:

I Read Unit I (Country and People) in the book by James O'Driscoll "BRITAIN: Country and People" (Recommended Reading)


1. Are there various nationalities within your country? Do they have special symbols and signs to identify them? Think of the most well-known symbols and tokens of nationality in your country. Are they the same type of real-life objects (e.g. plants, clothes) that are used in Britain? Are they well-known to everyone in the country or are there local tokens that the population of the whole country is unaware of? Is it important to have such "identification tags" in a contemporary society? Doesn't it interfere with the idea of globalization and global understanding among nations? Please, share your idea with all of us, posting it in the "Discussion" section

2. Watch a video Introduction to BritainIntroduction to Britain . Get familiar with the information about the countries constituting The UK.

3. Another thing to pay attention to is different names that are used when people talk about the country we are studying now. Why? What are the roots of this false synonymy? You can find out about it here

4. Those who are interested in learning more about Britain and the British can read the suggested articles below.


LEARNING MATERIALS:

Ten core values of the British identity

British values: article by David Cameron?

Being different

The British stay stubbornly different

Being British: What's wrong with it?

Imagining the Island Nation: The Historical Geography of //British//.

James O'Driscoll. BRITAIN (in Recommended Reading): Introduction and Geography (Ch.3)